Apparatus for filling vessels



F. L. SHELOR. APPARATUS FOR FILLING 'VESSELS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 5, 191B.

Patented Dec. 5, 1922,,

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A m 'EN TOR. Tea aria LJAfiZOif .-1TTOR\E (Ill IIIIIIII! III III Patented Dec. 1922.

FREDERICK L. SHELOIL'OE SALEM, 'VEERGINiEA, ASBIGNOR TO INTERNATIONAL FILLER I CORPORATIOI\T,-'OF PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA, CORPORATION OE VIRGINIA.

APPARATUS FOR FELLXNG VESSELS.

Application filed a rn ieie. serial no. aeaeoe.

To all, whom it may concern: a

' Be it known that I, FREDERICK L. SHiaLoR, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Salem, in the county of Roanoke and State of Virginia, have invented noveland useful Improvements in an Ap aratus for Filling Vessels, of which the tollowmg 1s a specification.

'lhe resent invention relates to the art of packaging liquids, and aims to provide an 'of a filler head applied to a bottle.

apparatus so constructed and arranged that the filling of the vessels is accomplished in a facile, convenient and efllcient manner by the aid of air suction or vacuum producing means, whereby to save time, labor and expense, to avoid dripping, spilling or other waste of the liquid, and to attain'uniformi'ty and exactness of filling and the removal of any foam present in the vessels, with the added advantage that those vessels which are imperfect, by reason of having fractures or holes therein, will be refused, and therefore not filled, so that only the perfect vessels will receive the liquid.

A further object is to withdraw the air and admit or supply theli uid in such a way as to take advantage 0 the viscosity, capillary attraction, non-elasticity and resistance of the liquid and the attenuation of the air, so as to carry out the process in a most practical and efiicacious manner, and

particularly, to eliminate dripping of the li uid when changing from filled to unfilled vessels and also reduce to a negligible minimum the fiow of the liquid into and out of the vessels after being filled to the desired level without sacrificing the speed of filling while gaining decided advantages.

Another object is to catch the overflow taken from the vessels and return the same to the reservoir from which the liquid is taken for filling, to thereby avoid wastage of the liquid, and it is the object also to obtain this result in such a way as to avoid delays or sluggishness of operation.

A still further object is to reclaim the vapor given oil' by the liquid, whereby to not only protect the suction or vacuum pump from such vapor, but to also. effect a considerable saving in'the reclamation of the vapor instead of letting it pass to the atmosphere.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be apparent as theinvention is better understood, the invention resides in the method and apparatus hereinafter descrlbed, it being understood that changes within the scope of what is claimed can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein- Flgure 1 is a dlagrammatical viewof the apparatus.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional detail to Figure 4 The method and apparatus are suited for either filling a single vessel or a number of them simultaneously, and as shown twohottles 10 are filled simultaneously, that is, a tray full or group of bottles or other vessels are filled two at a time. The bottles or vessels 10 are supplied with the liquid from a suitable reservoir 11 located at a lower level than the bottles or vessels, through the aid of a suction or exhaust pump 12 or other equivalent means, as will appear more fully hereinafter. Other component parts of the apparatus are the filler heads 13, over-flow receiver 14, and reclaiming device 15.

Filler heads.

A filler head is provided for each one of the vessels that are filled at the same time, so that twofiller heads are used in the appa ratus as shown, although any number can be employed. Each of these filler heads 13 as shown, includes a block or member 16, a depending tubular stem or nipple 17 having its upper end threaded or otherwise engaged with said member 16. and a second tubular liquid therethrough, due to the viscosity, capilla attraction and frictional resistance of the iquid, without impairing the rapid flow of air therethrough during filling. In other words, the passage 20 can be of the smallest possible cross sectional area, taking into consideration that with some liquids a film of liquid may remain on the walls of said passage, whereby the air can be drawn therethrough at a very hi h speed in a small or minute stream, due to t e attenuation and minimum frictional resistance of the air, whereas, liquid in entering the passa e 20 will choke or retard the flow toa negligible minimum, due to the viscosity of the liquid and the capillary attraction thereof within the small passage, which create a decided frictional resistance of the liquid in the eduction or outlet passage, whereas the resistance offered by the flow of air is small in comparison. With viscous or sticky llquids which adhere to the walls of the eduction passage, so as to reduce the effective cross sectional area thereof, it is important to use a passage of proportionately larger size according to the thicknem of the film of liquid which remains on the walls of the passage in opposition to the great velocit of the air stream, because if this film re uces the air stream too minutely, the molecular attraction or cohesion of the particles of the liquid will cause it to produce short columns of liquid in said passage at intervals and thereby prematurely choke or arrest the flow before the liquid level in the vessel reaches the lower end of said passagel The liquid entry passage 19, (shown as but not necessaril annular) is of a cross section al area consi erably larger than that of the eduction passage, or is several times the capacity of the latter, in order that the veloc- 1ty of the liquid entering the vessel is proportionately slower, but still sufficiently speedy to assure of quick filling-the outflow of air being so rapid that it will almost 1nstantly exhaust the air from the vessel, when the vessel is sealed, and to draw in, the liquid with the desired force and velocity. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the extreme lower end of the passage 19 may be closed, as at 21, and the stem 17 has an annular set of outlet apertures or ports 22 immediately adjacent to the lower end of said passage, for directing the liquid into the vessel radially in all directions to the side walls of the vessel. Furthermore, these apertures divide the liquid passage and stream up, so that the liquid enters the vessel in a number of jets, each of which is about as large, if not larger, in cross section than the stream of air taken from the vessel. As shown, there are eight such jets of liquid to the one stream of air. This division of the liquid stream by the apertures, assisted by the narrowness thereof due to its form in this case, serves mergers the filer head is lifted or separated from the vessel so that the air suction no longer pulls on the liquid columnand the liquid slphons back to the reservoir, as will hereinafter more fully appear, the liquid would drip from the stem 17 were it not that such dripping is overcome by reason that the viscoslty and capillary attraction of the liquid in the passage 19 and especially in the ap'ertures 22. Although the siphonic action takes back most of the liquid, there would be an objectional and wasteful dripping of the li uid, if not s ecially prevented by taking a vantage of t e division or formation of the liquid entry passage into one utilizing capillary attraction, so as to check such dripping in the absence of air suction, due to the fact that the molecular attraction of the liquid particles overcome gravity, assisted by the siphon, at the apertures 22. Like the passage 20, the area of cross section of the liquid passage 19 should be in proportion to the viscosity of the liquid, increasing as the viscosity or thickness of the liquid increases, to make up for the clinging of the liquid to the walls of the passage.

Tubes or pipes 23 and 24 are connected to each member 16 in communication with the upper ends of the respective stems 17 and 18, and one or more suitable rubber or other compressible gaskets 25 are fitted on the stem 17 against the member 16 to provide a seal forthe mouth of the bottle or other vessel for which the filler head is adapted. The filler heads can of course be of different sizes and formations for vessels of various descriptions. It is preferable to manipulate the filler heads to apply them to and remove them from the vessel.

The level L to which the vessels are to be filled, for accurate filling, is determined by the distance that the receiving end of the eduction passage 20 is below the seal 25 that seats in all'cases the same on the vessels. The stems 17 and 18 can of course be of different sizes to regulate filling and conform to the various conditions. The a, stem 17 shown in Figures 2 and 3 delivers the liquid into the vessel at a point slightly above and immediately adjacent to the level L where the air is taken out, and it is sometimes important that theliquid enter as near as possible tonthe level of air withdrawal, as will hereinafter appear, while at other times this is of no consequence.

All of the tubes 23 of the several filler heads communicate with the supply reservoir or tank 11, and as shown are connected to a common supply tube or hose 25' (prefmanipulated by hand, to allow freedom of movement), which connects with a pipe or tube 27 dipping in the liquid in the reservoir having the level Z. The tubes24 of the filler heads are all connected to the exhaust pump Y12, and are preferably connected with a common tube or hose 26 similar to the tube or hose 25 The pipe 27 hose 25, tubes'23 and stems 17 form a siphon liquid supplying conduit, the short leg of which is branched to enter several vessels when this is desired, with said branches terminating at the level L, during filling, to which the vessels are to be filled, while the long leg of the siphon conduit terminates below at the liquid supply level Z,

which is at a proper distance X below the level L, according to the nature of the liquid handled. Thus, the distance X depends on the viscosity and capillary attraction of the liquid,- for the reasons hereinafter brought out. The siphon conduit can be of suitable large cross sectional area from the apertures 22 at its lower end, the capacities and formations of said pa'sages and the distance X being important in most instances.

Overflow receiver.

In order to catch any liquid drawn; from the vessels during filling, an overflow receiver is provided in the air conduit between the filler heads and pump. This receiver, designated generally by the numeral 14, em-

bodies,in the embodiment as shown, two

valves 30 are provided for the pipes to prevent reverse flow, thereby avoiding the suction from extending into that chamber which is being emptied, as will presently appear. -An air outlet and inlet pipe 31 also enters each chamber and opens into the same above the highest liquid level, to prevent the liquid entering said pipe. These pipes 31 are alternately connected with a suction pipe 33 connected to the pump through the device 15. Thus, a valve 32 is used, and when in one position connects one pipe 31 with the atmosphere and the other with the pipe 33,

and said valve is reversed by hand to re,

verse the connections. The pipes 31 are automatically closed by the rise of liquid in the trap chambers, and for this purpose a suitable valve 34 is provided in each chamher to close the end of the respective pipe 31, and said valve is operated by a float 35 back into the reservoir 11, to prevent waste,.

and drain pipes 36 are therefore connected to the bottoms of said chambers and have valves 37 arranged to be seated and held seatedby suction within the chambers, so that said valves onl open'when such suction. is relieved. T e two drain pipes 36 can lead to a common pipe 38, if desired, which leads into the reservoir 11.

-With the valve 32 in the position illustrated, air is taken from the right hand chamber, thereby drawing the air from the filler heads into said chamber, and any liquid enterin will drop into the chamber to be collecte therein, while the left hand chamber is being emptied. Now, when the liquid level in the right hand chamber rises 'to the limited elevatlon, the float raises the filling is stopped momentarily until the valve 32 is reversed, and said valve can be reversed instantly, so as not to lose but a second or two of time. The air will now pass through the left hand chamber while the right hand one empties the action being the same as with the right hand cham her as above explained. The reversal of the valve connects the right hand pipe 31 with the atmosphere so that air will enter the right hand chamber and allow the liquid therein to drain out, the valve 37 of said chamber'opening because it is no longer held seated by suction. Thus, one chamber is emptying while the other is in use for catching the overflow, and the reversal of the valve 32 at once prepares the receiver for continued operation when one chamber is filled.

I Reclaiming device.

When the liquid handled vaporizes easily and the loss by vaporization is appreciable, a reclaiming device is used, preferably between the overflow receiver and the pump. This device 15 as shown embodies a casing 39 havin two vertical chambers 40 and 41 with a ividing partition 42. A suitable liquid 43, which may be water or other medium that has the property of absorbing the vapor given off by the particular liquid used, fills the lower portion of both chambers, which are in communication through an opening 44 below the partition 42, so that inlet pipe 46 depends within the chamber the vessel.

40 and has the pipe 33 connected thereto, and

the pipe 46 clips in the liquid and has outlets 47 submerged therein to divide the air where it enters the liquid and thus facilitate the absorption of vapor by the li uid. The air rises in the chamber 40 after owing through the liquid, and passes through a restricted aperture 48 in the partition 42 at a desired point above the liquid level. This restriction of the flow of air from the chamber 40 to the chamber 41 serves to arrest particles of the liquid by contact with the partition 42. Bafiies 49 are located in the chamber 41 above the aperture 48 to further arrest such particles of liquid, so that they will drip down into the liquid 43. The air suction pipe 50 which connects directly with the pump is attached to the easing in communication with the upper end of the chamber 41, so as to draw the air upwardly past the bafiles 49 on, its way to the pump. This pump is a high capacity one so as to create the desired lift, as the rapid withdrawal of air is vital to speedy filling, but this involves difiiculties that are overcome by the arrangement of the air and liquid conduits as elsewhere described herein.

Operation.

During the filling process, the pump 12 is kept in operation constantly, and there is no cutting on or off of the air excepting at intervals by the overfiow receiver, and in this connection it may be stated that the filler heads of the present apparatus are devoid of valves or other moving parts to control or interfere with the flow of either the air or liquid where it either enters or leaves This simplifies the apparatus and process of "fillin to a marked degree, and avoids complications that are bound to occur with such controlling valves and kindred devices. Furthermore, time is saved and filling rendered exceedingly rapid in 'nea'neie the said conduit, as by sealing the vessels.

,The operators duty is to apply the filler heads to the vesssls and hold them appl ed until the vessels are filled, and then to chan e to the next vessels, thereby enabling unski led labor to fill the vessels with great speed and little or no training. It has been found in practice that small bottles, such as extract bottles and the like, can be filled almost as-fast as the operaton'can apply and remove the filler heads, and even larger ves sels are filled "rapidly.

The first step is to insert the stems of the filler heads into the empty vessels, and seat the seals 25 on the mouths thereof, or the vessels can be applied to the filler heads with the same results although possibly not the same speed because the filler heads are easier to move about. The seals 25 being compressible will tightly fit the vessels even though they inay be of slightly different heights, and as the air is flowing into the passages 20 very rapidly during the application of the filler heads to the vessels, the moment that the seals are applied to the mouths of the vessels, so as to shut off the flow from the atmosphere, the air is exhausted almost instantly from the vessels,providing the vessels are leak-proof. Should a vessel have a fracture or hole, it will be refused, that is, it will not be filled, because air can flow into the vessel through the hole or crack and pre-v vent the formation of a vacuum therein, and since this vacuum is essential to the filling of the vessel, it will remainempty. The advantage gained is two fold, because the faulty vessels can be picked out as they remain unfilled, and wastage of liquid is also prevented.

Assuming that the vessels are perfect, and sealed by. the seals 25, so that the air is exhausted, this will at once create a very strong suction at the outlet apertures 22 of the liquid siphon conduit, and the'pull on the liquid in said conduit will draw it into the vessels. The air passes out in a fine stream of high velocity through the small passa e 20,

'whereas the liquid enters at a high yets ower velocity. The vacuum is in favor of a rapid flow of the liquid? while the larger area of the passage 19 and viscosity of the liquid provides for a slower velocity of the liquid in said'passage than the air in the passage 20, the air having great attenuation properties. The liquid is spread by the apertures 22 to the side walls of the vessels and the inflow of liquid is with suiiicient force to carry the liquid to the side walls of the vessels so that the liquid will run down the sides of the vessels with the least possible agitation and foaming, the liquid also being directed out of range of the outfiowing air to prevent the liquid being caught up by the air and carried out, which would also slow down filling due to the fact that the liquid cannot flow fast in the restricted passage whereas the air can. The vessels are filled quickly, owing to the large air suction and large liquid stream. Any foam present is also drawn out with the air.

The filling is continueduntil the operator observes that the liquid in each of the vessels has reached the level L to which the vessels are to be filled. In other words, the withdrawal from the vessels is kept up until the liquid level in each of the vessels being filled reaches the level of the lower ends of the passages 20, when the liquid will flow into said passages. As soon as the liquid enters one of the passages 20, it will immediately check the flow due to the great resistance to the flow of the liquid in said restricted passage, and this almost stops the flow of liquid into the vessel. The result is two fold, in that the overflow to the' overflow receiver is as small as possible to avoid excessive circulation, and secondly, the flow into the vessel being reduced to a negligible .amount thereby also reduces agitation which would result if the full flow were continned-that is, if the outlet and inlet passages were about the same capacity or cross sectional areas;

The next step is to remove the filler heads from the vessels, or to separate the filler heads and vessels, by either lifting the filler heads or lowering the vessels whichever is the case, and as soon as the seals are removed from the vessels, the connection between the air and liquid conduits is destroyed. The withdrawal through the passages 20 being continued will take off surplus liquid and foam which may be present above the liquid level, as the stems are removed, and any liquid within the passages 20 is carried ofl, whereas the suction being removed from the liquid conduit will allow the liquid therein to siphon back to the reservoir 11 from which is was previously lifted. This siphoning back is important for two reasons. First, it prevents overfilling by carrying the liquid back after the sealis removed from a vessel, and any liquid within the vessel above the outlet of the liquid conduit is also sucked back by the siphonic action. Secondly, the siphonic pullin the passage 19 assists capillary attraction of the liquid in preventing dripping of the liquid from said passage as the filler head is taken from one vessel and applied to another one. Taking these points up further, supposing that the viscosity of the liquid is such that the vacuum' in the vessel is unusually great, so that even after the liquid level reaches the lower end of the stem 18, it continues until the liquid level rises above the apertures 22, to partially fill the vacuum existing above the liquid after the air withdrawal has been supplanted by the liquid outflow through the passage 20, then when the seal 25 is removed, the siphoning back of the liquid in the liquid conduit will also take out the liquid above the apertures 22. This is the reason for having the liquid inlet, with some liquids, close to the level of withdrawal. Importance is also attached to the fact that the passage 19 is so formed or divided that the liquid remainingtherein will by capillary attraction, assisted by the siphonic pull, overcome the tendency for the liquid dripping from the stems by gravity; The liquid entry passage is therefore a capillary passage to prevent such dripping which would otherwise occur with most liquids, and such dripping, if it occurred would not only be wasteful, but would also spill the liquid on the exterior of the vessels, in their trays, or on other objects which is particularly objectionable if the bottles are labeled. In this connection, it is of advantage that the dimension X of the siphon be large enough, according to the viscosity and capillary attraction of the liquid handled, to asdistance however, should not be more than necessary, for with too fast siphoning back of the liquid, during the interval of changing from the filled to the unfilled vessels, the liquid would siphon back to the extreme limit,'and this would require extra time in again raising the liquid column its full distance. The distance between the level L of withdrawal and level Z of the liquid supply (which is kept constant by any suitable means) is therefore such, in proportion to the viscosity and capillary attraction of the particular liquid, that the column of liquid in the siphon conduit will either stand still owing to the counteracting capillary attraction or recede slowly when the heads are removed from the filled vessels and transferred to the next unfilled vessels, such transfer being done quickly so that the flow of liquid is again set up before a too long interval of time.

All overflow from the vessels is caught by the overflow receiver 14:, and such overflow is restricted, as above explained, in order that the chambers of said receiver will fill slowly, and thus prolong the intervals of time for reversing the valve 32. The purposes and operation of this receiver as well as those of the reclaiming device 15 will be fully understood from the foregoing descriptions thereof under their respective captions.

The level Z of the liquid supply is maintained constant, so that the siphonic action and liquid column will not fluctuate as would be objectionable with-most liquids, and one way of doing this is to deliver liquid into.

valve 52 is provided to shut oil the low when float 53 in the reservoir. Therefore, as soon as some liquid is taken from the reservoir,

the level in drop, ing will open the valve 52,

and let in enoug liquid to at once make up for the loss. In this way, the level Z will remain normal during operating conditions, but when the su ply is to be entirely used up, it is evident hat as soon as liquid is no longer fed into the reservoir, the level Wlll drop therein until the liquid is exhausted.

The present method and apparatus are not only of advantage with such lighter liquids as extracts used for flavoring, hydrogen peroxide, ink, etc., but has in practice proven of decided merit in handling thicker and more-viscous liquids, including cough syrup which is of peculiar consistency making it hard to control, mayonnaise dressin Worcestershire sauce, and the like. Wit some of the more viscous or thicker liquids, however, modifications in the liquid and air stems are necessary, but still using thefeatures above described.

Another advantage gained by the fact that the air outlet passage of the filler head is restricted, resides in the fact that when the liquid in the vessel reaches the desired filling level so as to pass into the air outlet passage, the flow of liquid is gradually slowed down, thereby helping to overcome the hydraulic pressure created in the bottle by the inertia of liquid flowing into the bottle. If the flow were stopped suddenly the inertia of the inflowing liquid would by hydraulic pressure raise the filler head oii of the vessel and allow the liquid to squirt out around the seal, which would be objectionable. In this manner, by using the restricted air outlet passage, the rapid flow of liquid into the vessel is gradually stopped when the liquid level reaches the air outlet passage.

Modifications.

Figures 4 and 5 shows the order of the stems reversed, the liquid stem 17 being inside of the air stem 18. The air passage 20 between the stems is very narrow, so as to reduce its cross sectional area and obtain the advantages as with the central passage 20 as above described. The liquid passage 19 in the stem is of considerably larger capacity than the passage 20 for the reasons heretofore explained. In this case it is preferable to extend the stem 17 -slightly below the stem 18, to get the liquid stream out of the range of the outflowin air stream, but the liquid enters immedlately adjacent to the level of withdrawal. Sometimes the passage 19 must be divided to take advantage of the capillary attraction of the liquid to prevent dripping, and this can be done by inserting a star-shaped core 22, which will divide the stream of mfio ing sim ly with the apertures 22 above described.

aving described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for filling vessels comprising a seal to close the mouth of a ves sel, an air suction passage having a terminal of restricted cross-sectional area leading downwardly through the seal to a point to which the vessel is to be filled for resisting the flow of liquid into said passage and supporting liquid therein by capillary attraction, a liquid reservoir, a liquid supply passage communicating with said reservoir and having a terminal leading downwardly through said seal and divided into a plurality of sub-passages of restricted cross-sectional area to divide the inflowing stream of liquid and to support the liquid by capillary attraction when the seal is removed from the vessel, and means for constantly withdrawing the air from the air suction passage.

2. An apparatus for filling vessels with liquid having a seal for the vessel to be filled, a liquid passage leading through said seal, an air eduction passage leading down through said seal to thevdesired distance to regulate filling, air suction creating means communicating with said eduction passage,

a liquid trap in said eduction passage between said seal and air suction creating means and having an inlet and an outlet above the liquid for the flow ofair through said trap, and reclaiming means in said eduction passage between said trap aid air suction creating means adapted to contain liquid through which the air passes and baflles to" arrest particles of liquid flowing with the air.

3. An apparatus for filling vessels with liquid having a seal for a vessel to be filled, a liquid passage leading through said seal, an air eduction passage leading down through said seal to the desired distance to regulate filling, air suction creating means communicating with said eduction passage, a liquid trap in said eduction passage for catching liquid flowing through said passage and having an inlet and an outlet above the liquid for the passage of air, and a reclaiming device in said eduction passage between said trap and air suction creating means including a caslng adapted to contain liquid means for directing the air through such llquid, and batlles within the casing for arresting particles of liquid passing through the casing with the air.

4. An apparatus for filling vessels with liquid having a seal for the vessel to be filled, a liquid passage leading through said seal, an air eduction passage leading down through said seal to the desired distance to regulate the filling, air suction creating means communicating with said eduction passage, a liquid catching trap in said eduction passage, and reclaiming means in said eduction passage between said trap and'suction creating means "and adapted to include means through which the air flows for absorbipg vapor carried with the air from the vesse means communicating with said eduction passage, and a reclaiming chamber in said eduction passage between said seal and suction creating means and adapted to hold means therein for absorbing vapor carried with the air from the vessel and having means for arresting particles of liquid to prevent their passage to said suction creating means. M

In testimony whereof, I hereunto set my hand this second day of A ril 1918.

FREDERKCI L. SHELOR. 

